A known internal combustion engine has a crankshaft which is driven by the pistons of the cylinders of the internal combustion engine using connecting rods. In addition, a camshaft is provided on which cams are embodied for driving gas inlet and gas exhaust valves of the internal combustion engine. The camshaft is connected to the crankshaft using a connection element and is driven by this element. More stringent legal regulations with regard to the emission of harmful substances in the case of internal combustion engines require effective measures for reducing the emission of harmful substances. Nitrogen oxide emissions (NOX) can be reduced very effectively by recirculation of the exhaust gas in the combustion chambers of the cylinders of the internal combustion engine. By means of the recirculated exhaust gases in the combustion chamber, the peak temperature of the combustion of the air/fuel mixture is lowered, which then reduces the nitrogen oxide emissions.
An exhaust gas recirculation can be reached very easily in the internal combustion engine by means of a so-called internal exhaust gas recirculation system. In the case of an internal exhaust gas recirculation process, the crankshaft position is set according to the desired exhaust gas recirculation rate, and while doing so, the gas inlet valve releases the inlet to the cylinder and the gas exhaust valve the exhaust to which an exhaust gas port is routed. This crankshaft angle position is often also called the valve overlap.
From DE 101 08 055 C1 an internal combustion engine with a camshaft for which the phase position can be adjusted to the crankshaft by using a setting mechanism is known. The setting mechanism can be controlled hydraulically.
Depending on which point in the operation of the internal combustion engine has been reached, very different exhaust gas recirculation rates must be set. This also applies to the different operating modes in the same way as they, for example, occur in internal combustion engines with injection valves which meter out the fuel directly in the combustion chamber of the cylinder. These operating modes are, for example, a layered or a homogenous operation. Therefore, as a result it is a requirement to set the exhaust gas recirculation rates very quickly from high to low and vice versa and at the same time to set the exhaust gas recirculation rates very accurately. DE 101 08 055 C1 discloses that the phase position is determined in accordance with the camshaft angle and the crankshaft angle.